A soggy, foggy welcome to Acadia

We arrived at Schoodic Woods Campground in Acadia National Park on Monday, 9/19 just ahead of the rain. Well, not just rain, but dense fog too.

Our  drippy arrival day.

Acadia National Park is spread across several separate areas, we’re staying in the northernmost section (Schoodic Woods), the main part of the park is located on Mt. Desert Island (MDI) – about a 1 ½ hour drive from our campsite to the main entrance. Both Schoodic and MDI have one-way scenic loop drives which can also make for long hours in the car - once you’re on the loop you’re committed! Lol.

But there’s lots to do and see in both parts of the park. So on Monday evening when we caught a late afternoon break in the rain, we decided to do a bit of exploring. The campground we’re in just opened in 2015 and it’s beautiful with lots of trees and spacious sites. One of the highlights of Acadia are the restored carriage roads (much of the park used to be private land owned by the Rockefellers, et al.) as walk/bike paths. We decided to walk the carriage road to one of the ocean overlooks. It was gray, very gray.

Misty walk on the carriage road.

There is gorgeous blue ocean out there.... somewhere...  honest!

We met and chatted with a researcher from the nearby Schoodic Education & Research Institute, who was setting up netting to catch bats. She would catalog the local ones and radio collar the migrating bats. Very cool. However, we then had to beat feet to make it back to our campsite before full dark. No worries about surprising the wild life – the gravel road surface is so noisy (crunch, crunch, crunch) they could hear us a mile away!

You can't see it (neither can the bats!), but there is netting stretched across the roadway.
The researcher will log or collar the bats she catches.  

On Tuesday, the rain let up but the dense fog alert stayed in effect all day. Loved the sound of the fog horns in the distance. We decided to bike a 6-mile stretch of the scenic drive along the coast and then take the carriage roads back to the campground. Let me just note that unlike my beloved rail to trail paths – the carriage roads are not relatively level. Oh no! Those poor carriage horses had their work cut out for them! There are frequent signs posted warning bicyclists of steep grades and sharp turns. The road surface is a fine sandy gravel so it’s easy to lose traction if you’re going too fast – which I do not! Lol.  

They aren't joking either.  :)

Even with the fog, it was a pretty ride. Can’t wait until we can actually see something! Lol. The weather report calls for clear skies and sunshine tomorrow. If that happens we’ll drive over to Mt. Desert Island and see what’s there.   

The Schoodic Institute - this used to be an old Naval barracks, pretty sweet digs.

Coastal granite and a foggy background. 

Visibility..... gray.

A spot of color on a gray day.

Low tide in the local harbor.

Schoodic Sushi.  LOL!

There’s more to Vermont than Ben & Jerry’s??? Oh, yes!!

We finally made it to Vermont after two more one-night stops in New York. When we planned this part of the trip, we made reservations wherever we were going to stay three nights or longer. Sometimes there are several driving days between those reservations and those are the spots we either call a day or so in advance or just cross our fingers and roll in hoping there will be an opening.

We really lucked out for one of our nights – Selkirk Shores, a NY State Park on Lake Ontario, was a gem. We pulled in without a reservation and they hooked us up with a lakefront space that gave us awesome views of the spectacular sunset. The park also had miles of trails for both hiking and mountain biking.  On travel days we’re usually on the road by 9am, but we opted to spend a couple hours on the trails before leaving so squeaked out just before the 11am check-out time. Really wish we could have stayed longer – a week would have been nice! Lol.

Excellent trail system at Selkirk - we needed more time to do them all!

Forest fungi - it looks like coral. :)

View of Lake Ontario from our front window - hard to beat!

The sky was on fire at sunset.

Spectacular colors.

One of the reasons I picked our campground in Waterbury, VT was its proximity to the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory (ok, it was the only reason!). Turns out there is a whole lot more going on here!  In fact, Ben & Jerry’s was a bit of a bust – maybe my expectations were too high. We strolled through the grounds and the Flavor Graveyard which was cute. The factory tour was fun – about 30 minutes long – you see a video, get to look at the production line and machines. Get a sample of ice cream (Vanilla – really??? How boring is that.) and then exit to the gift shop and scoop shop. But, they were out of the “limited edition” flavor I had my heart (or at least my taste buds) set on and they don’t carry all their flavors at the factory scoop shop. Sigh. I had high hopes for a daily pilgrimage – but once was enough. We found lots of other options to take up the slack though. :)

Ben & Jerry's - Vermont's finest!

Do they deliver???

Since these are the old stomping grounds of my friend, Elizabeth, I had a list of area “must do’s”.  First on the list was a cider donut at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Oh yeah, she nailed that one. We went twice! We seemed to nibble our way through the area – ice cream, local cheese, chocolates, maple syrup (maple everything, really. Lol) but the cider donuts were a favorite.

Fresh hot cider and a cider donut- these were a hit!  Thanks Elizabeth!

We’ve been working hard to get in our five miles a day (or more) to offset all the good eats. Rog did a mountain bike ride on the Perry Hill Trail – about 17 miles of rocky, rooty thrashing on the single track. I opted to browse the local antique shops and take a much more sedate walkabout in Stowe. We met back up for the Waterbury Farmer’s market – it was fun to buy our mandatory Vermont maple syrup from the family who made it. :)

Creekside trail at the campground - we need the steps! Lol.

Rog about to tackle the Perry Hill Trail in Waterbury, VT - roots and rocks galore.

Stowe was a picturesque little town.

We decided to spend Friday, our last day here, in Burlington. I am not an architectural buff, but I have to say the city is beautiful. So many cool old buildings in many different styles. I swear this bank really needed a “Gringott’s” sign out front and a dragon curled around the tower. Lol.

Don't you think this Burlington bank would be right at home in Diagon Alley?  Lol.

We strolled down Church Street, which is a pedestrian only street lined with shops and had lunch. Then grabbed our bikes and headed for the Island Line Trail. The trail is another of those “rail to trail” paths that I love! The path is fabulous – it runs along the water, through some wooded areas, and crosses Winooski River – but the highlight is the Colchester Causeway. You ride for 3 ½ miles on a marble causeway that was built to connect the Lake Champlain Islands with Burlington. There are great views of the mountains in the distance and you get to ride right out to the middle of Lake Champlain. Totally cool!

The entire trail is 28 miles roundtrip, we did about 22 of those. We started at Waterfront Park and rode all the way to the “cut” which is a 200-foot break in the causeway where there used to be a swing bridge. Local Motion runs a bike ferry so you can cross, but we used that as our turn around point. Of course, again with all the great water and mountain views – I was ogling the rocks. They built the causeway out of these HUGE blocks of marble. Big chunks of gray veined white marble just piled on top of each other. Miles of it! I was in awe.

Crossing the Winooski River bridge.

Rog heads out onto the causeway across Lake Champlain.

At the cut - a 200 ft. break in the causeway.

The local bike ferry will shuttle you across, but we opted to turn around here.

Huge slabs of marble used to build the causeway.

Miles of gorgeous rocks! 

After the ride it seemed only right to reward ourselves, so we crossed another “must do” off our list and had a Vermont Maple Creemee (soft serve maple ice cream). It’s a local favorite and for good reason. Yummy! We sat on the waterfront and enjoyed our Creemees and the view and then headed back to camp to prep for our departure in the morning.

Burlington waterfront.

Teeny, tiny little lighthouse.

Adirondack Mountains in the distance, but no sign of "Champ" the local version of the Loch Ness Monster. 

We have a two-night stay in Hanover Maine where I’ll get the domestic goddess chores out of the way. On Monday, 8/19, we head to Acadia National Park for eight nights. Everyone we meet raves about how beautiful it is. We’re looking forward to it!

Note – I’m not sure what kind of cell reception or internet connectivity we’ll have there, so if we disappear for a while blame it on Verizon! Lol.

Thunderous Niagara and a Peach of a Festival

We arrived at Four Mile Creek State Park in Youngstown, NY fairly early on Thursday, 9/8, after a one night stay at Lake Erie. We’re here for three nights, but the weather reports are calling for thunderstorms and rain showers sometime in the near future. We decided to take advantage of the blustery, but dry, day and head for the falls. 

“Niagara Falls” are actually three separate waterfalls: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. American and Bridal Veil are on “our” side and Horseshoe spans the Niagara River to the Canadian side. All the falls are awesome; American Falls is the most picturesque (in my opinion) with huge boulders all along the bottom. Bridal Veil is the smallest, but you can get pretty close to it on the Cave of the Winds boardwalk (there is no cave, it collapsed in 1920 – but there was plenty of wind!). Horseshoe is the biggy – 90% of the water goes over it and you don’t just see it – you feel it.

We decided to take the Maid of the Mists boat ride to the base of the falls. Totally worth it! It gives you a chance to really experience the falls in a way you can’t from the topside.  The boat passes American and Bridal Veil Falls and pulls up close to the base of Horseshoe. The wind was howling the day we went and the blue ponchos provided by the tour company were flapping in the wind like wild things. The spray is drenching and the noise – you understand why “thunderous” is used to describe the falls. The power and force of the water is overwhelming.  After our ride (because we weren't wet enough - NOT!) we hiked to the "Crow's Nest" where the wind and spray completed our drenching. :)

 American Falls

View of the "Crow's Nest" next to American Falls

Maid of the Mist in front of American and Bridal Veil Falls

Rog in his poncho -  he looks like a very stylish Gandalf. :)

On the boat

Up close and personal with Horseshoe Falls

Soggy Selfies. Lol.

I couldn't resist ... they sparkled!

The Rainbow Bridge - connects the US and Canada. Who knew??

The next day the weather was actually calmer and mostly sunny, so we decided to visit the Canadian side of the falls. You can walk across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada. The name made me think of Callie, but we did not find her on the other side. :(  We had read that the views from the Canadian side were better and with that I’d have to agree. From across the river you can see all three falls at once and you have a better vantage point to see American and Bridal Veil Falls. When you are standing next to/above them you don’t get a clear picture of how beautiful they really are.  We walked all along their riverside park and spent a couple of hours enjoying the views from Canada.

Headed into moose and maple leaf territory.

Crossing the border.

You can see all three falls from the Canadian side.

Best view of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on the far right - separated by Luna Island.

Horseshoe Falls - Wow.

Wish you could hear the rumble and feel the spray.

On the way back to the campground we made a quick stop at Whirlpool State Park to see the rapids and a big basin where the incoming water creates a whirlpool effect.  In the evening we headed to the Niagara County Peach Festival. We tried their signature dish – peach shortcake, had a peach soda, and brought home several pounds of lovely fresh peaches. Yummmm!!

Whirlpool rapids - class VI and deemed not navigable.

Niagara County Peach Festival

Peach shortcake - what we really came for! :)

On our last day here the promised rain arrived, so we hung out at camp and used the time to plan the next couple of stops on our journey. We have reservations in Vermont (Ben and Jerry’s here I come!) and Maine – but needed to figure out what route we’re taking and where we can stay along the way.  We decided to have dinner out at a highly rated Bistro in Youngstown. Yelp did not steer us wrong. The cuisine was Mexican, but with a creative flair. Dinner was delicious, but dessert was to die for. Spiced chocolate crème brûlée (Rog) and chili chocolate ice cream in a warm churro bowl (me). OK we shared both, so it did not come to blows. Lol.

During dinner the thunderstorm hit with a vengeance. We lingered over coffee while the rain bucketed down. The first wave had passed by the time we made it back to the RV so we stood and watched lightning flash over Lake Ontario until the next wave of rain began. High winds are forecast for our departure tomorrow. Oh joy! 

More lightning and high winds on the way.

And Finally a Few Pics from Lake Erie

Rog takes a dip in Lake Erie

The waves make it seem more like an ocean than a lake.

There were even shells!

Sunlight on the rocky shore.

Who can resist a squirrel with his own patio!

Shafts of light through the clouds.

Last light on the beach.